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9 Steps to Perfect Health – #3: Eat Real Food

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This content is part of an article series.

Check out the series here


In the first article of this series we talked about the negative impact of 4 common food toxins: wheat, industrial seed oil, fructose and processed soy. In the second article we discussed which fats, carbohydrates and proteins are the best source of fuel for your body. In this article we’re going to importance of eating real food.

“Real food” is:

  • Whole, unprocessed and unrefined
  • pasture-raised (a.k.a. grass-fed) and wild
  • local, seasonal and organic

Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Whole, unprocessed, and unrefined: if it comes in a bag or a box, don’t eat it!

The introduction of industrial food processing has without a doubt had the most detrimental effect on our health of any other factor in the last few hundred years – and possibly in the entire history of humankind.

Food refining has brought us all four of the food toxins destroying our health: white flour, white sugar & HFCS, industrial seed oils and processed soy products. It has also brought us chemical additives and preservatives, some with known negative effects and others with effects still unknown.

New research is revealing the harm these newfangled processed foods have on us almost every day. Just yesterday a study was published demonstrating that emulsifiers used in packaged foods ranging from mayonnaise to bread to ice cream increase intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”) and cause a chain reaction of inflammation and autoimmune disease.

Another study showed that diet soda consumption increases your risk of stroke and causes kidney damage, possibly because of the phosphoric acid used as an acidifying agent to give colas their tangy flavor.

To avoid the harm caused by processed and refined foods, a good general rule is “if it comes in a bag or a box, don’t eat it.

Of course not all foods that come in bags and boxes are harmful, so this isn’t meant to be taken literally. It’s just a helpful guideline. Butter is often packaged in a box, and Trader Joe’s (for some strange reason) packages vegetables in sealed plastic bags. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat butter and vegetables.

But in general, if you follow this guideline, you’ll avoid most common food toxins. And that’s more than half the battle.

Pasture-raised animal products and wild-caught fish: as nature intended

While the reasons to eat pasture-raised animal products and wild-caught fish span social, political, economic and nutritional considerations, I’m only going to focus on nutritional factors here. For a more comprehensive discussion, check out Eat Wild.

Several studies have been done comparing the nutrient content of pasture-raised (PR) and grain-fed (confinement animal feeding operations, or CAFO) animal products. PR animal products are superior to CAFO in 2 primary respects: they have a better fatty acid profile, and higher levels of vitamins and other micronutrients.

Omega-6 ratio
If you remember from Step #1: Don’t Eat Toxins, for optimal health we want to consume a roughly equal amount of omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-6) fats. This ratio, referred to as the n-6 ratio, should be as close to 1 as possible. Studies have shown that grain-feeding animals depletes their omega-3 levels, thus raising the n-6:n-3 ratio. The following chart from Eatwild depicts the effect of grain-feeding on the omega-3 levels of cows:

omega-3 levels of cows

Ducket and colleagues studied the omega-3 and omega-6 content of both pasture-raised and grain-fed animal products. They found that grass-fed beef had an n-6 ratio of 1.65, whereas grain-finished beef was 4.84. They also found that grass-feeding decreased total fat content by 43%.

Rule and colleagues found an even more significant difference. They looked at the n-6 ratio of several different types of meat, ranging from pasture-raised bison and beef to wild elk to chicken. They found the following ratios:

  • Range-fed bison: 2.09
  • Feedlot bison: 7.22
  • Range-fed beef: 2.13
  • Feedlot beef: 6.28
  • Elk: 3.14
  • Chicken breast: 18.5

What is apparent from both Ducket and Rule’s studies is that pasture-raised beef has approximately three times the amount of omega-3 than grain-fed beef, and is much closer to the ideal n-6 ratio of 1.

In fact, grass-fed beef has a superior n-6 ratio to even wild elk. This means that grass-fed beef falls within evolutionary norms for the fatty acid content of animals that humans have eaten throughout our history. Grain-fed beef does not.

Another interesting thing to note, which I mentioned in Step #2: Nourish Your Body, is the high n-6 ratio of chicken. In fact, it has about 14 times more n-6 than pasture-raised beef. This is why I recommend eating mostly beef, lamb and pork, and limiting chicken to the occasional meal (assuming you like it, that is). And when you do eat chicken, it’s best to choose skinless breast and cook it in a healthy traditional fat like butter or coconut oil, because the dark meat with skin has the highest concentration of n-6 fat.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
Meat, fat and dairy from pasture-raised animals are the richest source of another type of good fat, called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

CLA may have anti-cancer properties, even in very small amounts. In animal studies, CLA at less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of total calories prevents tumor growth. In a Finnish study on humans, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels. In another human study, those with the highest levels of CLA in their tissues had a 50 percent lower risk of heart attack than those with the lowest levels.

Pasture-raised animal products are the richest known source of CLA in the diet, and are significantly higher in CLA than grain-fed animal products. When ruminant animals like cows and sheep are raised on fresh pasture alone, their products contain from 3-5 times more CLA than products from animals fed grain.

Minerals, vitamins and micronutrients
The Ducket study I mentioned above also found that pasture-raised animal products have much higher levels of several vitamins and minerals, including:

  • 288% greater vitamin E content
  • 54% greater beta-carotene content
  • Twice as much riboflavin (vitamin B2)
  • Three times as much thiamin (vitamin B1)
  • 30% more calcium
  • 5% more magnesium

Grass-fed products also have a lot more selenium than grain-fed products. Selenium plays an important role in thyroid function, has antioxidant effects and protects the body against mercury toxicity. Grass-fed bison has 4 times more selenium than grain-fed bison.

Pasture-raised eggs
We see a similar difference between eggs from hens raised on pasture, and those raised in confinement. Pasture-raised hens contain as much as 10 times more omega-3 than eggs from factory hens. Pastured eggs are higher in B12 and folate. They also have higher levels of fat-soluble antioxidants like vitamin E and a denser concentration of vitamin A.

Wild-caught fish

Farmed fish contain excess omega-6 compared to wild-caught fish. Tests conducted in 2005 show that wild-caught salmon contain 10 times more n-3 than n-6, whereas farmed salmon have less than 4 times the amount of n-3 than n-6.

Another study found that consuming standard farmed salmon, raised on diets high in n-6, raises blood levels of inflammatory chemicals linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Wild salmon also contains 4 times as much vitamin D than farmed salmon, which is especially important since up to 50% of Americans are deficient in this important vitamin.

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Organic, local and seasonal: more nutrients, fewer chemicals

More nutrients
Organic plant foods contain, on average, 25 percent higher concentrations of 11 nutrients than their conventional counterparts. In particular, they tend to be higher in important polyphenols and antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E and quercetin.

Even more relevant in determining nutrient content is where your produce comes from, and in particular, how long it’s been out of the ground before you eat it. Most of the produce sold at large supermarket chains is grown hundreds – if not thousands – of miles away, in places like California, Florida and Mexico. This is especially true when you’re eating foods that are out of season in your local area (like a banana in mid-winter in New York).

A typical carrot, for example, has traveled 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table. Days – maybe more than a week – have passed since it was picked, packaged and trucked to the store, where it can sit on the shelves even longer.

The problem with this is that food starts to change as soon as it’s harvested and its nutrient content begins to deteriorate. Total vitamin C content of red peppers, tomatoes, apricots, peaches and papayas has been shown to be higher when these crops are picked ripe from the plant. This study compared the Vitamin C content of supermarket broccoli in May (in season) and supermarket broccoli in the Fall (shipped from another country). The result? The out-of-season broccoli had only half the vitamin C of the seasonal broccoli.

Without exposure to light (photosynthesis), many vegetables lose their nutrient value. If you buy vegetables from the supermarket that were picked a week ago, transported to the store in a dark truck, and then stored in the middle of a pile in the produce section, and then you put them in your dark refrigerator for several more days before eating them, chances are they’ve lost much of their nutrient value. A study at Penn State University found that spinach lost 47% of its folate after 8 days.

This is why buying your produce at local farmer’s markets, or even better, picking it from your backyard garden, are better options than buying conventional produce shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Fruits and vegetables from local farms are usually stored within one or two days of picking, which means their nutrient content will be higher. And as anyone who’s eaten a fresh tomato right off the vine will tell you, local produce tastes so much better than conventional produce it might as well be considered a completely different food.

Fewer chemicals
Another important benefit of organic produce, of course, is that it’s grown without pesticides, herbicides and other harmful chemicals that have been shown to cause health problems – especially in vulnerable populations like children. A study published in the journal Pediatrics concluded that children exposed to organophosphate pesticides at levels typically found in conventional produce are more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A panel of scientists convened by President Obama to study the effect of environmental toxins on cancer released a report in 2010 urging Americans to eat organic produce grown without pesticides, fertilizers or other chemicals. The report states that the U.S. government has grossly underestimated the number of cancers caused by environmental toxins.

The report especially highlights the risk of toxins in conventionally grown foods to unborn children. Exposure to harmful chemicals during this critical period can set a child up for lifelong endocrine disruption, hormone imbalances and other problems.

Supporting local economies and preserving resources
Aside from having more nutrients and fewer chemicals, there are other non-nutritional reasons to eat local produce. These were summarized well in Cornell University’s Northeast Regional Food Guide:

Community food systems promote more food-related enterprises in proximity to food production, marketing, and consumption. Such systems enhance agricultural diversity, strengthen local economies (including farm-based businesses), protect farmland, and increase the viability of farming as a livelihood. Local food systems mean less long-distance shipment of the produce we enjoy, which means decreased use of nonrenewable fossil fuels for food distribution, lower emission of resulting pollutants, and less wear on transcontinental highways.

I’ve also found that forming relationships with the people that grow my food leads to a greater sense of community and connection. In an increasingly technophilic, hyperactive world, that is especially welcome.

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78 Comments

Join the conversation

  1. Hi Chris;

    I take one multivitamin tablet and I buy the fiber from the pharmacy, can I eliminate the fruits and vegetables

    busy life and I don’t like them 😀

    • Whole foods are the way to go, it is great you are taking supplements for your health but, whole foods contain a high amount of water and can hydrate your body, even if you are busy, there are many portable healthy food options available- e.g- apples, bananas, salads, avocados! Good luck with your lifestyle

  2. Chris,

    You mention to focus on beef, lamb/goat, and pork in the diet and minimize chicken due to the poor n6-n3 ratio*. However, I was just checking out your meal plans, and the one for Week 2 has chicken on there about 4-5 times across 7 days, definitely more than any of the pastured animals. Am I missing something?

    *This was actually great news to me since I’ve had an aversion to chicken since my first pregnancy 5 years ago and all my life have eaten beef, pork and shrimp as my favorites, recently adding goat.

    Thanks!

  3. Thanks to all on this site for providing me with so much interesting reading that I’m now in danger of missing the train I was going to catch! I’d be grateful for info for people like me who don’t eat meat (including chicken, which I’m quite pleased about!). I used to eat meat, but haven’t for the past 25 years. I gave it up because I didn’t think the animals were properly looked after or fed the right diet, didn’t like battery chickens, and didn’t like the use of antibiotics. Now I can’t face the idea of eating it, so please don’t advise me to start! As grains are on theno-no list, any ideas about breakfast wold be much appreciated, too.

  4. Hi Chris, great post.

    I’m putting together a “get started guide” that will be available for free on my website. Can I use your fat and carb pyramids in the guide?

    Thanks,

    Tyler

  5. we do have some frozen strawberries in the freezer. The kids don’t know about them or else I’m sure they would be asking constantly 🙂 But I’ll use some of those and add that to the occasional lemon and kale.

    In a few months, the garden will go in and we’ll be up to our elbows in Vitamin C. We have bushes and bushes of wild blackberries too. I shouldn’t worry so much, they are so healthy and robust. My five year old told me her favorite foods are liver and sauerkraut! I definitely get some weird looks though when people ask what my baby has started eating and I say liver 🙂

    Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

  6. “A study published in the journal Pediatrics concluded that children exposed to organophosphate pesticides at levels typically found in conventional produce are more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”

    Add to this the tendency of modern parents who are trying to be “healthy” to cut as much animal fat and cholesterol out of their children’s diets as possible and it’s no wonder there are so many articles about ADHD in magazines with high vegetarian readership, and so many ads in same for natural remedies for that condition, right next to the ones for soymilk. (I’m a former Mothering subscriber. *grin*)

    Lola, if your kids can’t stand kale or bell peppers, is it possible to lay in a supply of frozen strawberries? That’s another excellent source and, because they were frozen at peak condition (supposedly), they haven’t had time to lie around and lose vitamins.

    Mind you, reducing your sugar intake also seems to reduce the need for vitamin C. You’ll never eliminate that need because our bodies can’t make it, but C and glucose compete for the same cell receptors, so someone eating a high-sugar, high-starch diet has to eat a lot more C to compensate.

  7. Lola: remember, traditional cultures like the Masai, Inuit and Loetschental Swiss thrived with almost no plant foods in their diet at all. Liver is higher in most micronutrients than fruits and veggies. It sounds like you’re doing great.

  8. Kale (130 mg per 100g) and sweet red peppers (160 mg per 100g) are a good source if you can get them. The RDA for kids under 5 is only 25 mg/d, so if you can get some kale and red peppers into them a few times a week, together with some lemon they’ll get plenty.

  9. Oh I also forgot to mention that we all eat a lot of unpasteurized sauerkraut that is made locally and I’ve heard that has Vitamin C but I’m worried it’s not enough. Really I guess what I’m freaked out about is the fact that my kids aren’t eating all of the fruit and vegetable servings that they are “supposed” to be eating and I’m wondering if that’s ok.

  10. Thank you so much for this series. I’ve been on a WAP diet for five years. My husband and three girls and I just moved to the east coast of Canada but he’s now out of a job and we are on a really really tight budget and are trying our hardest to not go on food assistance. In order to eat well on a tight budget we’ve been on a GAPS diet and are focusing on feeding our girls grassfed liver, dairy, meat ,eggs, butter and bone broths and rationed weekly cod liver oil. The problem is…after we do that we have very little money for other foods and I’m worried that my little ones (all under five) aren’t getting enough vitamin C. How much vitamin C is necessary? I have access to some frozen local blueberries sometimes. Would that be adequate? Oh I can’t wait to start harvesting from our first garden this summer.